Parents ‘dumping’ disabled children in special schools worry ZAPD

Zambia Agency for Persons with Disabilities (ZAPD) is saddened with some parents’ attitude towards their children in special schools.

Southern Province ZAPD Coordinator Ruth Munkombwe told ZANIS today that some parents have a tendency of using special schools as dumping sites for their children with disabilities.

Mrs. Munkombwe said this after receiving a briefing on some of the challenges that St. Mulumba Special School is faced with.

School authorities at the institution explained that some parents were abandoning their children at the school gate without paying for their boarding supplement.

And St. Mulumba Special School head teacher Jasert Ngulube has also confirmed the sad development.

Mr. Ngulube told ZANIS that some parents were running away from their responsibility of paying boarding supplement for their children at the institution.

He narrated how a named parent left his child on the pretext that he was going to deposit the boarding supplement at the bank and went for good.

Mr. Ngulube attributed such behavior to poverty levels among some families as parents with children in the primary section pay K650 while those in secondary school K900 per term.

Meanwhile, ZAPD has donated K6,150.00 towards boarding supplement for 10 most vulnerable children at St. Mulumba Special School.

Presenting an education support funding from ZAPD to the school this morning, Mrs. Munkombwe said it was not easy to run a special unit and commended the teaching staff for their commitment.

Mrs. Munkombwe further urged the children to keep up with the fighting spirit and to never get discouraged by society’s perception of their impairments adding that every child can succeed in education.

St. Mulumba special school in Choma district is catering for children with intellectual, visual, and hearing impairments.